St. John's opens Chris Mullin era with 32-point loss to Division II school

Chris Mullin knew his first year at St. John's was going to be rough, but the new head coach might be calling his mentor and former coach Lou Carnesecca out of retirement after how bad it started Wednesday night in Queens.

Mullin opened his Red Storm coaching career with with an embarrassing 90-58 exhibition loss to Division II St. Thomas Aquinas.

That's right. A Big East team lost to tiny St. Thomas Aquinas by 32 points.

But the former St. John's and NBA star took the loss in stride.

"You have to give the other team a lot of credit," Mullin said of the exhibition match. "They played hard, they played together and aggressive. This will be a tremendous teaching tool. A lot of our guys have not played in a college basketball game, and we tried to emulate that in practice and the scrimmage, but it's different. We have to learn from this."

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 61.8 percent in the first half and led 50-34 at the break. The Spartans finished at 48 percent and had only 14 turnovers. The Red Storm shot 36.7 percent and had 27 turnovers against the Spartans full-court press.

Justin Reyes had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans, and Chaz Walter added 18 points.

Federico Mussini led St. John's with 16 points. 

St. John's will face Sonoma State on Saturday in another exhibition game, then open the regular season Nov. 13 against Wagner.

While St. Thomas goes on to face those real powerhouses on their schedule: St. Anselm, Felician and Daemen.

Doug McDermott recreates classic Larry Bird SI cover (PHOTO)

It's easy to compare Doug McDermott's blue collar game to Larry Bird's, but this inspired idea from Sports Illustrated is on the spot.

This week's magazine features probable Player of the Year McDermott striking the same pose as Bird, flanked by two hushed cheerleaders (in this case Bluejays dancers Kelsey Saddoris and Kayleigh Begley), that graced the cover on Nov. 28, 1977.

A crisper version. @SInow: Inspired by the 1977 cover with Larry Bird, Creighton's @dougmcd3 http://t.co/kToiHj0MNj pic.twitter.com/WfJ8AVrKkc
— Luke Winn (@lukewinn) March 12, 2014

McDermott and 14th-ranked Creighton are the No. 2 seed in this week's Big East tournament, which gets underway Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Bluejays will play the winner of Georgetown-DePaul at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Seton Hall swim team shows up at Pirates basketball game — in their Speedos (PHOTOS)

Here's one group of athletes who couldn't wait for that polar vortex cold snap to finally break — the Seton Hall swim team.

At the Pirates' Wednesday night basketball game against eighth-ranked Villanova, a group of swimmers stood behind the cheerleaders under one of the home court baskets wearing nothing but Speedos and running shoes.

The Seton Hall pool boys, fresh off training camp in Puerto Rico, headed to the Prudential Center in Newark hoping to see a win against the favored Wildcats. Their appearance did earn the college swimmers some airtime on ESPN2 and some awkward tweets from TV viewers, but it was not enough to distract the Wildcats from a win. The Pirates ended up getting dunked 83-67.

Other varsity teams often attend games at the Rock, but few stand out as much as the swimmers, who make the trip at least once a season.

Fans might get a chance to name the old Big East no-name league

The Big East football league— which will be losing its conference name to the Catholic 7 basketball schools — needs a new name by July 1 and is considering opening up to social media for possible suggestions, according to a league source.

The new league would likely do this via Twitter.

ESPN reported that the name "America 12" was picked for the new football conference after their lawyers bought the domain name of the same, but the report was denied by the league.

“We have not chosen a new conference name at this time and there are no favorites," Big East commissioner Aresco said in a statement released Friday. "We are going through a thoughtful evaluation of potential names for our conference, and will select a name in a timely manner through a comprehensive and deliberate process that involves our presidents and athletic directors as well as constituents from inside and outside the conference. We are excited about the prospect of re-branding and look forward to working with our institutions and our fans as we engage in this process.” 

For the record, the Big East finalized their football/basketball divorce Friday and the Catholic 7 took the Big East name with them.

The new 10-team league will need a name to brand itself and rebuild on but, gauging from fans' response, the bland America 12 moniker was kind of meh and didn't exactly float everyone's boat.

The new league will have only 10 teams the next two seasons and will be stretched from Connecticut to Texas.  Next year's football lineup is Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Memphis, SMU, Houston, Temple, Rutgers and Louisville until Navy and possibly Tulsa join in 2015.

So put on your thinking cap or start a drinking game but find a way to throw a few words like big, little, USA, metro, 10, 12, 14, athletic, great, valley, sun, league, America, trans, non-Catholic and Beef 'O' Brady into a hat and see what you come up with.

Imagine being able to tell your friends you were the genius behind the Great East South-West Interstate Ten Conference.

Departing Big East football teams have reportedly chosen a new red, white & blue conference name

I guess $100 million can buy you a new football league, but it still can't get you a good conference name.

It looks like the football schools that used to be part of the Big East are leaning towards the generic-sounding "America 12 Conference" as their new name, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

You can't get any more Wonder bread and mayonnaise than that.  It sounds like a real estate company.

Not the official logo

While the "Catholic 7" take their $10 million settlement and the Big East name for its own basketball conference, the remaining football schools could be stuck with that mid-level-sounding name.

The name makes sense because the football schools are spread all over the country, but couldn't a $100 million budget come up with something with a little more marketing zing.

"America 12 Conference" favorite to become new name for Big East, league sources told @espn. Not official; other names being considered
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) March 7, 2013

McMurphy reported that the new conference also registered the domain name AmericaOne.org — so that's a step up.

I kind of like the Catholic 7 Conference name. Maybe that group can sell the Big East name back to the Am-12 and become the Cat-7 for let's say $100 million plus punitive damages.

Source: Big East football schools to keep $100 million in split

After days of talks and negotiations, a person familiar with the discussions says the Big East football schools will get almost all of a $110 million pot in a deal that will allow seven departing basketball schools to keep the name Big East and start playing in their own conference next year.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the separation agreement has not been finalized.  That should happen by the end of the week.

According to the source, the basketball schools (aka The Catholic 7) — DePaul, Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence, Villanova, Marquette and Georgetown —will keep the Big East name and the right to play their conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.  They will likely receive about $10 million to divide amongst themselves.

Meanwhile the football schools, most of which will go to holdover members Connecticut, South Florida and Cincinnati, will get about $100 million in the deal.

The whole deal is rotten from top to bottom — or since football invaded the once-proud league.  The football schools came into the conference on the shoulders of the basketball schools — the sport that built the Big East brand name.

These so-called Big East football schools were mostly middling at best and jumped in and out of the ACC and Big Ten hoops like trained circus dogs who crapped in the middle of the big top which originally took the strays in.

The new Big East is looking to add two or three basketball schools and a TV deal could be announced as early as today with the new Fox Sports 1 cable channel, reports USAToday.

Good riddance to Big Least football.  Long live Big East basketball. It rose up once, it can do it again.

CJ Fair's nullified slam dunk is still resounding

James Southerland made his first appearance for Syracuse in seven games and led the No. 9 Orange to a 77-58 victory over heavy-hearted St. John's in the Carrier Dome.

The Orange pretty much had their way with the Red Storm throughout the game, but it was C.J. Fair's thunderous one-handed slam dunk right before the half that got the home crowd on its feet.  Too bad Fair's soaring basket over the Johnnies' Sir' Dominic Pointer was nullified by a charging foul.

Even though the resounding slam wasn't worth 2 points, it's still worth a second look.



The win gave Syracuse (20-3, 8-2 Big East) coach Jim Boeheim his 35th season with 20 wins or more. He holds the NCAA record in that category.

St. John's (15-9, 7-5) was without their head coach Steve Lavin — who missed the game due to the overnight death of his father, Cap, leaving Rico Hines in charge.

Fair finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Report: Big East's 'Catholic 7' optimistic about possible TV deal

The seven non-FBS football members of the Big East met informally on Friday to continue discussions on breaking away from the league and forming their own conference. The prospect of leaving the Big East without a big television contract was one of the largest hurdles facing the the seven Catholic schools.

On Saturday night, ESPN's Darren Rovell reported that the "Catholic 7" are anticipating getting at least double the money from what they currently earn in their Big East TV contracts.

The heavenly news must have sounded like Gabriel's Trumpet to the beleaguered presidents of St. John's, Georgetown, Providence, Villanova, DePaul, Marquette and Seton Hall — after weathering the hectic realignment of the conference over the past three years.

Having a TV schedule filled with basketball-only schools in a major market cities sounds idyllic at first but, in relation to the huge money earned from football and basketball leagues, the report of the lucrative deal is optimistic thinking at best.  Rovell wrote:

Sources say that Fox, whose Fox Sports 1 channel is set to launch in August, has an initial high offer on the table of more than $500 million for a 12-year deal. Fox Sports 1 will replace the network's motorsports channel Speed, already in 81 million homes. Sources say officials with Fox are scheduled to meet with those representing the interest of the "Catholic 7" in New York City on Wednesday. A Fox spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. A high-ranking source at NBC Sports Network, which has so far engaged in preliminary discussions with the "Catholic 7," declined comment. ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz also declined comment on the network's interest in the "Catholic 7" games.

Big East non-football schools plan to leave conference: source

The seven Catholic, non-football playing members of the Big East have finally said enough is enough.

DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova held a teleconference with Big East commissioner Mike Aresco Thursday and are expected to announce that they are planning to leave or dissolve the conference, according to sources.

CBS.com reported Thursday afternoon that, barring an unexpected change of plans, the split has been approved but the announcement will be made at some point next week.

The presidents of the schools — which constitute a two-thirds majority of the members of the conference as is — had the right to vote to dissolve the league if they chose without the burden of exit fees — as long as they leave as a group.  Legal action by the remaining all-sports teams —Connecticut, Cincinnati, and South Florida — who will be in a sort of conference limbo could pose a problem down the road.

The teleconference took place Thursday morning and Aresco was expected to issue a statement that afternoon saying that the non-FBS programs were leaving.

It "would be an upset if they remained in the league," a source told ESPN on Wednesday.

When the breakup is finalized, the source indicated that the Big East's media rights could take a 20% hit, potentially warding off some of the schools slated to join the conference.

The Big East was originally built around basketball based in large urban markets but, since the inclusion of major FBS programs, the realignment of the conference focused primarily on the football schools reaching all over the country.

Critics have blamed football for forcing the league to bring in schools not located in the East and diluting what was once known as one of the most elite basketball conferences in college basketball.

There is speculation that the remaining seven basketball schools — who will be allowed to retain the Big East name, tournament at Madison Square Garden and automatic NCAA bid — were courting other basketball schools such as Dayton, Xavier, Butler and St. Louis  to form a super basketball conference with 21 teams.

A more realistic plan would be to form a 10 or 12 team league.

What happens to the recently added football-based schools such as Boise State, Central Florida, East Carolina, Houston, San Diego State and SMU if the Big East breaks up?  Those schools will probably return to their respective leagues.

Big East basketball fans deserve better than the joke that the conference has become.

Big East non-football schools discuss forming new league

Looking at unstable future and the possibility of a drastically cut television deal, the seven remaining non-football schools in the Big East met Monday to discuss possibly breaking away from the league and forming their own separate conference.

The development comes less than a week after CBSSports.com reported that the Big East's next TV deal could be worth as little as $60 million annually — quite a drop from the $100 million contract the league was hoping for.

The reality of $40 million decrease could be an impetus for the non-football schools — St. John's, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Marquette, Villanova, DePaul and Providence —to leave the conference that basketball built.

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco reportedly attended the meeting.

The television money would only be a fraction of what was expected before Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Rutgers bolted from the Big East over the past 15 months.

UConn, Syracuse Tie For 1st In Big East Coaches' Poll

It had to be one of the most awkward Big East media days in memory.  The coaches picked both  national champion Connecticut and soon-to-be-gone Syracuse as the best teams in the upcoming  season.  However, the real topic hanging on everyone's tongue at Wednesday's annual event was conference expansion and realignment.

Most of the talk centered around Syracuse and Pittsburgh's announcements that they were leaving the Big East to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and the TCU team which ran away.

TCU was slated to join the Big East but is now headed for the Big 12 before the Big East could do anything about it.  Big East commissioner John Marinatto announced at the conference he was looking to bring in schools to make up for the defections and prevent any others from leaving.

There has been a lot of talk-- some by the governor of Connecticut-- that UConn would also be interested in joining the ACC.  Marinatto would have none of it.

"In the past five years, we've had the best basketball league in the country," he said.  "We had [a record] 11 teams in the NCAA tournament last year and, on paper today, nine of them would be in it again."

Opinions about the defectors and the effect they will have on the league were at a fever pitch at the Manhattan gathering. 

"My problem is not them leaving," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino-- in a statement dripping with irony.  "My problem is you did it in 36-48 hours.  Don't run away with a girl after one date to get married in Las Vegas when you've been dating someone else for three or four years.  You've been dating this woman for 30 years, show a little respect."

Pitino, as you will recall, is the same man who almost threw away his career by cheating on his wife of thirty years for a 15-second fling with a woman who later tried to extort $10 million from him.

Last September, Pitino also compared Pitt's move to the ACC to Sal Tessio betraying the Corleone family in "The Godfather."  Funny, because rumors have been swirling about the Cardinals jumping ship as well.

Pitino's poorly-chosen analogy, along with Pitt and Syracuse wearing track shoes and ready to bolt aside, there were plenty of other topics at hand including the upcoming season and the coaches' pre-season picks.

Connecticut, which closed out their season with an 11-game winning streak by winning the Big East tournament and the national championship will have to do it without All-America guard Kemba Walker, the heart and soul of the team.

Head coach Jim Calhoun has three returning starters-- including sophomore guard Jerry Lamb, a pre-season first-team pick-- and junior Alex Oriakhi, a second-team selection.  Freshman center, 6-foot-11 Andre Drummond was chosen pre-season rookie-of-the-year.

Syracuse, which had five first place votes-- two less than UConn-- has senior Kris Joseph, a first-team selection, and second-teamer junior Scoop Jardine returning to the court.

Asked if he thinks the team will be treated differently during road games because of the school's decision to leave the Big East, Boeheim was philosophical.

"Nobody has ever cheered for us on the road," he said.  "We never get a lot of cheers."

Louisville, which got three first place votes, was third followed by Pittsburgh.

Pitt's senior guard Ashton Gibbs was selected pre-season player of the year after leading the conference in scoring (16.8) and 3-point shooting (49%) last season.

Cincinnati was fifth followed by Marquette, West Virginia, Villanova, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, South Florida, Providence and DePaul.  In addition to Gibbs, Lamb and Joseph,  the pre-season first team included seniors Darius Johnson-Odom of Marquette and grad-student Tim Abromaitis of Notre Dame.

Next year's coaches' poll might be without some familiar teams but not if Marinatto has his way.  The commissioner said he will not let Syracuse or Pitt out of their contracts, which requires them to stay in the league for two more years.

Georgetown coach John Thompson III got sentimental about the Big East's fracturing conference.

"When I think of the Big East, I think of Georgetown-Syracuse, Georgetown-St. John's, " he said.

So do a lot of fans.